There is no royal flower strewn path to success. And if there is, I have not found it, for whatever success I have attained has been the result of much hard work and many sleepless nights.
Madam C. J. WalkerRead
I am not ashamed of my past; I am not ashamed of my humble beginnings.
Interpretation
Embracing one's past and origins can fuel future success and self-acceptance.
Madam C. J. Walker's quote emphasizes the importance of accepting and being proud of one's history and humble beginnings. Rather than feeling ashamed of where one comes from, it suggests that our past experiences form an integral part of who we are, and embracing them can lead to personal growth and inspiration for others.
In practice
In a motivational speech about overcoming obstacles, this quote can inspire others to take pride in their journeys.
There is no royal flower strewn path to success. And if there is, I have not found it, for whatever success I have attained has been the result of much hard work and many sleepless nights.
I am not satisfied in making money for myself. I endeavor to provide employment for hundreds of the women of my race.
I have made it possible for many colored women to abandon the washtub for a more pleasant and profitable occupation.
Don't think that because you have to go down in the wash-tub that you are any less a lady!
The girls and women of our race must not be afraid to take hold of business endeavor and, by patient industry, close economy, determined effort and close application to business, wring success out of a number of business opportunities that lie at their very doors.
As I bent over the washboard and looked at my arms buried in soapsuds, I said to myself, 'What are you going to do when you grow old and your back gets stiff?' This set me to thinking, but with all my thinking I couldn't see how a poor washerwoman was going to better my condition.
The biggest adventure you can take is to live the life of your dreams.
I love making, I love doing. I love being to the full, I love everything which is not sitting and watching and copying and dead at heart.
Pray the largest prayers. You cannot think a prayer so large that God, in answering it, will not wish you had made it larger. Pray not for crutches but for wings.
I think that young women and little girls need to see that they don't have to be the damsel in distress. They don't have to not show their strength. They don't have to be whatever the stereotype is or the tropes that we go to in our minds.
I resolved that, like the sun, as long as my day lasted, I would look on the bright side of everything.
Like every New Yorker, I know this place is magic. I know this place is amazing. I know that we have come back time and time again from a great recession, from high crime rates, from 9/11, from crisis after crisis.
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